President Trump has warned he will ‘complete the job’ and ensure ‘Iran will no longer exist’ in a stark message following renewed strikes on Iran.
The US president issued the threat on his Truth Social platform on Saturday evening after a succession of strikes between the US and Iran.
“United States aircraft just struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations, and coastal radar sites, for violating the Cease Fire Agreement, AGAIN! It is very possible that they will never learn!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
View 2 ImagesThe strikes come after attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz (Image: Anadolu, Anadolu via Getty Images)
“There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable, and will be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started. If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!”.
The warning follows the US Central Command’s announcement that it launched retaliatory strikes after Tehran allegedly attacked a commercial oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz using drones.
The US military confirmed Saturday it had hit 10 targets in Iran at President Trump’s direction.
The US Central Command, in a social media post, said that American military aircraft targeted Iranian military “surveillance infrastructure, communication systems, air defense sites, drone storage facilities, and minelayer capabilities” following the attack on a merchant vessel early Saturday morning.
The wave of strikes in the Gulf underscores how, despite the interim agreement reached by the US and Iran, there remains a danger that the conflict could once more escalate beyond control.
The vessel targeted by Iran was a Panama-flagged tanker, M/T Kiku, which was transporting more than two million barrels of crude oil close to the strait.
The US military also carried out strikes on Friday following reports of a further attack on a cargo ship, the Singapore-flagged M/V Ever Lovely.
It stated that “Iran had a chance to honour the ceasefire agreement” but “elected not to” when its forces struck the Kiku.
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Earlier this month, the two nations reached a ceasefire agreement and a memorandum of understanding ahead of a potential peace deal, yet the Strait of Hormuz has continued to remain a flashpoint.
Despite a rise in commercial traffic, normal shipping has not yet been fully reinstated owing to ongoing strikes.
Prior to Friday, Tehran had warned that attempts to navigate the strait along a route designated by the UN’s International Maritime Organization would be “unacceptable and completely dangerous” and that vessels were required to coordinate with Iran.